Sunday, April 12, 2015

Britain's railways in wartime

Kevin Robertson has compiled a pictorial account of the important role of the railways in Britain during the Second World War. The black and white images are from the Getty Collection and show the ways railways were used to transport supplies across Britain including coal, farm equipment and military equipment, the role of women who were employed during the war to work in the railways, the evacuation of children from the large cities to country areas, damage done to stations, locomotives and tracks during bombing attacks, the result of collisions between trains blacked out for the war, methods used to black out trains, stations and equipment in case of air raids, the use of railway land for farming and the preparation of fire trains and emergency vehicles in case of a gas attack. This book records an aspect of life in Britain during the Second Word War as well as illustrationg an important record of the part played by railways during the war.